


The Last Hope

by AmBunMustRun



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2, The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood, Cordyceps Fungus (The Last of Us), F/M, Nagito is missing his hand, Nagito is wearing the Servant clothes, cursing, mentions of cannibalism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29738961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmBunMustRun/pseuds/AmBunMustRun
Summary: In a world where the infected are rampant and settlements are few and far between, it was simply luck that we found Nagito Komeada during a search for supplies.
Relationships: Komaeda Nagito/Original Female Character(s)





	The Last Hope

It had been years since the world fell to the cordyceps infection. Years since society as the world knew it collapsed and crumbled, leaving humanity scrambling, desperate to salvage what they could, save those who could be saved, and forsake the rest. There were only two sets of safe havens that existed in this world - settlements and quarantine zones. Quarantine zones were… a nightmare of their own, to say the least, with far too many rules, too little supplies, and filled with desperate people who wanted to forget what was happening outside the walls. There were plenty of them littered about, often near large cities where the buildings were plentiful and the infected were few after the bombings when the infection first started. Settlements, meanwhile, were few and far between, having slowly grown about the world, often using abandoned man made structures to their advantage. There were fewer rules, more freedom, and easier access to supplies. However, the amount of infected in the surrounding areas were more… intense. More in number.

The settlement in which I lived in was one such place - it used to be a large grocery store, having been raided and picked clean to the bones by scavengers  _ years _ ago. It had remained sturdy over the course of time. Dry, even. The infected, somehow, had never been inside, leaving it to be the perfect place for shelter. With the addition of power (there were numerous generators chugging away, working diligently day and night), it became even better - working plumbing, refrigeration, controlled heat and air conditioning… The only real problem was simply the lack of showers, but we had been lucky enough to rig up  _ something _ to work. It was a place to live and it was a good one at that. There was even a pharmacy inside, fully stocked still since it had been locked and shuttered before being raided. The medicine might have expired and not as effective as it once had been, but it was still medicine. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, after all.

Everyone that lived in the settlement all had their own responsibilities: guards did patrols, handled civil disputes, and left with gatherers (like myself) to escort them to resource rich locations; gatherers went out and filled bags upon bags full of supplies they found on the outside, bringing them back to the settlement and depositing what they found into bins at the volunteer sector to be distributed where they were needed; volunteers sorted through what gatherers brought in, determined who needed what, and handled the supplies accordingly, working tirelessly to ensure everyones’ needs were met; doctors (or as close as anyone could get with limited access to any form of medical documentation and the proper materials) were in charge of tending to injuries, illnesses, and disposing of corpses, both of the naturally dead and the infected (often the latter was mostly those who had turned outside of the settlement, but there had been a handful of times where someone was infected and found to have come back, whether knowingly carrying the spores or not); and finally, there were the common folk, who tended to the areas just outside of the settlement, farming crops, tending to the horses, and collecting rain water to be purified inside and stored for later use.

Together, we all lived relatively simple lives.

We didn’t often see survivors outside of our settlement. None that didn’t turn out to be hunters or smugglers, anyways. We didn’t go out of our way to search for them, either, knowing that, more often than not, they were looking to capture us or kill us outright. It was because of them (and the occasional runner or clicker that sometimes would find their way through the surrounding woods) that we could only leave in groups of two or more. Oftentimes, not many willingly chose to leave aside from the gatherers, and they had to be accompanied by a guard at all times when doing so.

Even now, as an experienced gatherer with more than my own fair share of infected kills under my belt, I had to be paired up with a guard. And, unfortunately for me, I was paired up with the  _ one _ guard I found to be the most obnoxious and annoying.

If only because he found me to be the same way.

Jeff was a pale man, lithe and a little gangly, though under his clothes I knew him to be muscular. He could tango with the best of them, scarred from several fights gone south, pale from keeping to the shadows. He used to be a hunter, back in his youth, but after meeting his wife, a baker and confectionist, he had long since dropped that title, wanting nothing more than a simple life with the woman. I knew her, too - we were the best of friends. I always traded her extra supplies she needed for some of her delicious snickerdoodles, knowing that if anyone else knew of our arrangement, we could both get in trouble.

Right now, he was trailing a bit behind me, carrying a pistol tight in his hand while he had a sawed off double barreled shotgun hanging from his belt, a standard rifle across his back. He was grumbling under his breath, something about wanting to go home already and just spend his night with his wife. It was always like this with him - Jeff didn’t really want to be a guard, he just wanted to stay home and coddle his wife. The poor woman, him leaving was probably the only time she had to herself throughout the day. He only took the position so that he could provide for her without making her feel as though he had to rely entirely on her to survive in the settlement. As we crawled under a storage gate, held up by a moldy, grimy gray cart, he made some sort of comment about how I was too slow, that we needed to hurry up.

Stormy blue eyes twitching, I shot him a glare over my shoulder. “If you just  _ shut up _ for once, I can focus on getting the supplies  _ and you can get home faster _ . Jesus, fuck…” I huffed under my breath and muttered, “How the  _ hell _ does Milica put up with you?”

“I’ll  _ shut up _ when we’re back at the settlement,” bit back the male. He yelped slightly as I kicked my foot out back towards him, clipping his shoulder slightly with my heel, before standing. “Bitch!”

“Shh! Dumbass, there could be infected in here,” I growled quietly. We hadn’t scouted this far out before. This was definitely near the border where the hunters liked to wander. The building we had slipped into was also a prime spot for the infected to lurk. I swung my backpack around to my front and pulled out a gas mask, fixing it over my face, taking a deep breath of filtered air. I didn’t see spores in the air, but I didn’t want to risk rounding a corner and getting a lung full of the fucking things. My own pistol in hand, I carefully glanced around. We both were being careful, glancing to and fro before I started to focus purely on searching for supplies. For all the griping Jeff had made on the way in, he was a good guard. I would be safe for the time being. Box after box I went through turned up nothing but expired food, candy, and photo supplies. At least in my little corner that I was working through. The photo supplies, for the most part, were totally useless, but I knew that we could likely make use of some of the frames and screws I was finding. So I stuffed what I could into my bag and moved on throughout the stockroom. Most of it had been picked clean like I feared, but that was fine. I was still finding supplies people overlooked, hitting the jackpot with full boxes of rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, gauze, bandages… I even found a good amount of vitamins. Fuck if I knew what most of them were good for, but hey, vitamins!

Stuffing the supplies in my bag, I beamed a little bit to myself in pride. There was definitely enough to last the settlement a good while! At least, I hoped so. We were a bit… picky choosy with how we all used the supplies we gathered, so unless it was necessary, we would likely hoard it all. Moving on, I could see bottles of water on higher shelves above us. With a boost from Jeff, I was able to grab them and throw them in my bag with everything else. It would soon weigh heavy with everything we were finding, but I didn’t care. I would totally rather not have to risk a second trip if I could avoid it.

“I can’t believe this place wasn’t totally picked clean. Think the people who worked here were the ones who tried to get supplies and just never came back?”

“Probably. They probably thought that people would have picked the rest clean,” grunted Jeff, keeping his guard up as he looked to and fro carefully. “I bet the main area is empty as hell.”

“Mm… Yeah, you’re probably right. But we should still check, just in case. You never know what people could have missed.” I slipped back down to the floor and continued to look around. I stuffed some notebooks and pens and pencils into my bag as well when I found them. More searching proved that everything else that could have been of use was either gone or expired by twenty years or so. Sighing, I offered Jeff a small smile behind my gas mask. “Grab something to keep the door open? I’m willing to bet that the doors have mechanical locks on them.”

“Without power, they shouldn’t work.”

“Not unless they’re battery powered.”

“The batteries would have lost juice years ago.”

“You really want to test our luck on that one?”

Jeff looked like he wanted to argue the point, but he decided that it would be best to drop it. He grabbed a box of expired soda cans and, after I opened the door, he set the case down just right to keep it propped open. I glanced up and down the aisles of the store and cringed. It wasn’t visible from where we came in, but there had been a huge, gaping hole in the roof, the linoleum floor warped and filthy from years of rain, snow, and whatever else could have happened over time. I saw nothing of immediate importance, glancing up at the markers that indicated what aisles should have had what. There wasn’t much to be found, like we thought, going through each aisle carefully, but the few rare items we found made it worth it: a few extra bottles of water, some toothbrushes and toothpaste, a single bottle of mouthwash, two boxes of laxatives, three packets of sponges, a box of latex gloves (they were small, but hey, gloves were gloves!), a few pacifiers, one bottle of lube, two tubs of petroleum jelly, and six bottles of various types of shampoo. Everything else was either damaged, expired, or rotted to the point that not even Jeff could identify what the items were supposed to be.

We had been making our way back to the stockroom area to leave when we heard  _ something _ rustle nearby. Jeff was immediately aiming his gun and gesturing for me to get down. Did something follow us inside? Or worse,  _ someone _ ?

“No clicking… Or groaning. Whatever it is, it’s living. Maybe an animal, could be a hunter.”

Swallowing thickly, I nodded. We were quiet, slowly nearing the sound when we were forced to freeze, the sound of a shelf clattering as it fell and hit the one beneath it echoing throughout the otherwise silent building.

“J-just my luck…” we heard someone sigh. It was the voice of a man, that much we could tell. Glancing warily around the corner, I took in the sight of him. Wild, fluffy white hair, pale skin, green and red striped sweater, black jacket, torn black jeans… and a severed forearm, the nub bandaged hastily, sloppily, the gauze used to wrap it bloodied and ugly. He had heavy set bags under his eyes, his cheeks flushed ever so slightly. He must have been running a fever… I felt a wave of sympathy wash over me, going to stand just as Jeff grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t. He could be infected. See his face? He’s feverish,” whispered Jeff. “He probably chopped off his arm where he got bit.”

“If he’s infected, we can kill him before he turns,” I replied with a slight frown. Jeff shot me a look, but he released my wrist, keeping an eye on me as I stood upright and slowly approached the stranger. “Are… Are you okay?”

The stranger jumped slightly before turning to look at me. A weak smile curled at his lips, but it was obvious that he was wary of me. “A-ah… I’m… looking for painkillers…” he replied meekly. He held up his nub arm. “A hunter didn’t like my hand and cut it off. How despairing, no?”

I took a moment before nodding slowly, pulling my backpack from my back and unzipping it. I frowned a little before finding what I was looking for. I always carried a little pack of pain pills for myself just in case, suffering headaches often, knowing that they would send me into crying from the intensity. It was something I hoarded at the settlement, but I did my best to not rely on them too much in case someone else needed a few. I offered him two pills and a small bottle of water. “Here. It isn’t much, but it should help…”

His pale green eyes went wide before he immediately took the pills and tossed them back into his throat. He opened the bottle by sandwiching it between his thighs before unscrewing the cap, downing it in deep, heavy chugs, emptying the bottle immediately. He must not have had any water in a while… It made me wonder how long he went without food, too.

“I could take you to my settlement, if you like… We have doctors there. They can clean up your wounds, give you food and water, medicine…” I offered softly. I could hear Jeff inhale sharply from his hiding spot, but he didn’t come out. “They can even give you a prosthetic. Nothing too crazy, but you’ll be able to have a hand again.”

Sighing as he withdrew the bottle from his lips, the mysterious male in front of me offered me a shaky smile. “A-ah, I’m sorry… But I must decline. I have my own settlement I have to return to…”

Frowning some, I pulled out a worn out map from my bag. Circled locations were here and there across the paper, marking known settlements within a hundred miles of my own home, large X’s marking infected zones and known hunter shelters. Furrowing my brow slightly, the closest settlement was… “You can’t go back in your condition. I might not know which settlement you’re from, but the closest one is around forty, maybe fifty miles out?” If he had really been captured by hunters, they must have transported the poor guy by car. It wasn’t too unheard of, the hunters sending their captives between shelters like human cattle… The thought made me sick. “And that’s if you go straight through three major infected zones and two hunting grounds…” I shook my head and looked back up at him. “Even on horseback, avoiding everything, it’ll take maybe three or four days to get back. Maybe longer… And you’re not in any condition to be taking that trip whatsoever.”

“Aha… I didn’t know I was that far from home,” the male relented quietly. “May I see your map?” As I offered him my map, he looked it over before pointing at a settlement a bit further out than the closest one I mentioned. “It seems I’m even further than that… How unfortunate…”

“We have plenty of beds at our settlements. I’m sure that we can certainly spare one for you while you regain your strength. It’ll give you time to heal, and if you’re really dead set on getting back to your settlement, I’m sure a few people would be more than willing to help escort you home.” I offered the male a small, soothing smile behind my mask, making sure it met my eyes, and extended my hand down to him. “Hell, you can even stay with me. I have an extra bed, myself.”

He hesitated slightly before nodding once, taking my hand. Just as I pulled him to his feet, Jeff rounded the corner, aiming his gun at the male. “Listen up, bastard. If you’re actually infected, I will  _ personally _ unload a bullet into your skull. Got it? This dumbass might be willing to take you in, risk everything just for a pretty face, but I won’t hesitate.” His pale blue eyes were narrowed in a harsh, cold glare.

“Jeff, shut the fuck up,” I bit out, turning to glare at him. “I get that it’s a dog eat dog world, or whatever, but you need to learn to trust my judgement. How many times have I saved  _ your _ dumb ass from getting killed because you got too up your own ass thinking about your wife?” As Jeff sputtered, I huffed and took a deep breath to calm myself. Turning to look back at the stranger, I cleared my throat. “Sorry about that. He’s my guard and, uh… He’s a bit of a moron.” Ignoring my guard’s annoyed exclamation of protest, I squeezed his hand. “My name is Ashton, by the way. And you might have already guessed, but this is Jeff.”

“I’m, uh… Nagito. Nagito Komaeda. It’s nice to meet you.”


End file.
